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10 Takeaways From ‘Thug Life’: Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam Serve Up An Indulgent Mess
In 'Thug Life,' what could have been an intriguing tale of betrayal, revenge and redemption is reduced to an indulgent mess that flits from marriages and miscarriages to mistresses and murders in the most maddening of fashions
At the very first launch of Thug Life in Chennai, Kamal Haasan said that the film was an apology to fans from him and Mani Ratnam, for making them wait 38 years since Nayakan for the duo’s reunion. Later at a promotional event in Visakhapatnam last week, the actor-politician added that he was making amends for a bad film (Indian 2) with this one. The hype around the film intensified with the massive press tour undertaken by the cast over the past month; Kamal’s now well-publicised comments on the Kannada language originating from Tamil and the subsequent ban on Thug Life in Karnataka only fuelled the fanfare more.
Now that the much-anticipated gangster drama has hit screens, here are ten takeaways from the first screening:
(Mild spoilers ahead)
1) The film begins in very classic Mani Ratnam fashion; a flashback that reveals the bond between a young boy who has been orphaned after his father is killed in a shootout (Amar, played by Silambarasan TR) and a gangster-on-the-rise (Rangaraaya Sakthivel, played by Kamal) who adopts him out of guilt. Ravi K. Chandran’s exquisite framing and Rahman’s lilting score with the gorgeous Anju Vanna Poove track accompany these portions to stirring effect, setting the stage for the relationship between these two men to develop over the next two decades. Special mention to the VFX team for knocking it out of the park with Kamal’s de-aging — even the close-ups are flawless.
2) A host of supporting characters around Sakthivel and Amar are introduced in quite chaotic, but mostly interesting fashion; wives, brothers, friends, enemies, cops, muses and more. It’s a pleasant surprise to see several Mani Ratnam/ Kamal Haasan favourites in smaller roles, such as Vaiyapuri, Chinni Jayanth and Vadivukarasi, though the most heartening of the lot is Abhirami playing Jeeva, Sakthivel’s wife.
3) From thereon though, Thug Life begins its slow descent into stone-cold mediocrity. What could have been a template but still intriguing tale of betrayal, revenge and redemption is reduced to an indulgent mess that flits from marriages and miscarriages to mistresses and murders in the most maddening of fashions.
4) Nothing sticks; not the myth or legend of Sakthivel (no Nayakan-esque arc here for this hero), not the special (father-son at times, brotherly at others) bond between the aging don and his prodigy, and definitely not the flimsy reasoning behind the double-crossing.
5) The most prominent of the supporting cast, Nassar and STR — gifted as they are — are given so little to work with, that you baulk at Mani Ratnam’s handling of the actors. STR, especially, in such fine form in Ratnam’s Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, looks just as confused as we feel here... or is he just overawed to be acting with Kamal Haasan? In retrospect, more credit to Lokesh Kanagaraj for pulling off Vikram.
6) But the most disappointing role of all goes to Trisha, who struggles to make sense of Indrani, supposed to come across as this beauteous, intoxicating, tortured soul torn between her disturbing past and toxic present. You long for her to have some sort of agency in her own life’s proceedings or do something dastardly; if the intention was to paint her as a damsel in distress that audiences could sympathise with, it backfires on most levels.
7) In between miraculously surviving two point-blank near-death bullet shootings, a Revenant-style escape, learning martial arts from monks in Nepal (?!) and becoming a one-man army who eliminates his traitors (some scenes were dangerously reminiscent of Senapathy in Indian 2), Kamal’s Sakthivel also references the importance of women’s education, entering politics, and even reminisces about a Sivaji Ganesan film.
8) A.R. Rahman’s background score is as vibrant as ever, but tonally inconsistent and doesn’t suit the mood of the film at times. Still, Jinguchaa makes for a nice, if fleeting, jig. Why axe Muththa Mazhai, though?!
9) Despite such a stacked ensemble cast, it is Aishwarya Lekshmi in an extended cameo who makes the most impact; the actor is magnetic in her limited screen time and steals the scene(s) amidst all the star power around her.
10) Is this really the film Mani Ratnam wanted to make with his gifted friend? Or would Kamal Haasan’s original script of Amar Hai —about a man who is alive when believed to be dead —have made for a better project than what Thug Life turned out to be? Maybe time will tell.
Read The Hollywood Reporter India's full review for Thug Life here.